Meatless Monday - Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea, and Quinoa Salad

Sometimes a warm salad is just the thing. Especially as winter is loosening it’s grip and spring is starting to show itself. It just feels nice to have something heating in the oven as you’re thinking about how the sun is setting later and later each evening.

This recipe uses pickled jalapeños in the dressing. A friend of mine gave me a big jar of pickled peppers from his garden. It’ a great way to preserve them and adds a nice tartness to the dressing. You might even have a jar in your fridge right now.

Preheat oven to 425F. Lay cauliflower florets out in a single layer on an oven tray, scatter over half of the lemon zest and drizzle with olive oil. Give it all a good toss and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so, or until cauliflower is golden and tender.
On another tray lay out the chickpeas, scatter over remaining zest, fennel seeds, and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss well to combine and then roast for 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so, or until crispy golden brown.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well.

In a large bowl combine, cooked cauliflower, chickpeas, cooked quinoa, herbs and almonds, drizzle over dressing mix well and serve.

Comments

sounds delicious, there goes that cauliflower again, you are going to convince me yet, it has such a pungent fragrance and I just know I won't be able to convince Gary to eat it, maybe I won't tell him. Ha.

Ha, you know I think about you whenever I post a cauliflower recipe lately. We do love it and eat it often because it’s so versatile. I’ve never noticed much of a fragrance at all, of course it’s easy to miss that if you like the flavor.

The ancients believed inanimate objects such as pottery had a soul. I
can understand why they thought this. It comes from the ground, where
life sustaining plants grow, and just like people; with direction it
can be molded. Also like people and plants it has mind of its own and
sometimes rejects the direction in which we lead it. Often the
resulting pot is better than what we intended at the start. This is why
I love working in clay and why my style is not highly refined or rigid.
I gently guide the clay and the glaze but rejoice in letting them
become what they will by the other forces they encounter. Just like
planting a seed in the garden, even when I have specific plans for it
I’m never exactly certain what it will be until it is fully developed.
I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy sharing it with you.